Terms used in Sports that make You Cringe*** I have a few, the one that I find the most cringe worthy is "True Freshman". | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Terms used in Sports that make You Cringe*** I have a few, the one that I find the most cringe worthy is "True Freshman".

"He has ice water in his veins."

This has to be the lamest most over used cliche in sports. Is it in his arteries too? Is it just ice water or are there chucks of ice in his veins? It's just an old, tired, lazy expression.
 
"NCAA Champion Coach Carolyn Peck."

That's as bad as Andy Lander's jet black hair dye. Yes, she won an NCAA championship with Purdue, but she is in her mid 50's, if she was a good coach she would be coaching. Most of her time on the air, she is going against UConn.

Has anyone ever heard Geno introduced as 11 time champion coach????
 
This a little off the thread, but during the Regionals much was made by the media, and some team that hates us forever, about UConn having an unfair advantage by playing in Bridgeport. I get it, the country gets it, and the whole basketball world gets it. It was the luck of the draw. But when Ryan Rucco kept bring it up during the NCState game, it started to bother me. Not just that, but after rewatching the Indiana game, he harped up on it there also. I don't know if he hates UConn, or he is stupid, because if the main announcer is pushing this than it does not give service for what the team went through, and our two huge victories are iIlegitimized. Sorry, but watching and continually hearing that got my goat.
 
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"Pure"

This one has been trending in the last few seasons. A shot goes in, "It's pure," the shooter is "pure," their shooting motion is "pure." Yuck.
 
Listening to old broadcasts and drafts hearing the name Mike Jordan or Scott Pippen.
 
A baseball Pitching Coach when he goes out to talk to a pitcher: "Don't give this batter anything good to hit, but don't walk him!"
 
EdSaid said:
"NCAA Champion Coach Carolyn Peck."

That's as bad as Andy Lander's jet black hair dye. Yes, she won an NCAA championship with Purdue, but she is in her mid 50's, if she was a good coach she would be coaching. Most of her time on the air, she is going against UConn.

Has anyone ever heard Geno introduced as 11 time champion coach????
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It is in her contract. Every one of them has it, both the announcers you like and the announcers you don't.

At least winning a championship is "something", some of the color commentators never did much and the description sounds lame. "Former all conference player at xxx" just lacks a bit of cache.
 
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"Tweener" That word is always cringe worthy to me, especially when I hear it being used in basketballs. "He is not a 1 guard. He is a split between a 1 guard and a 2 guard. He is a tweener."

"Gritty" I am guilty of using that word sometimes. But I have come to realize that by saying "gritty", I am basically saying that the player is not blessed with any other considerable talent. Shame on me.

"High Motor" Do I really have to say anything on that word. Athletes aren't motors. They play hard, work hard, and train hard.

"Length" Rather than saying tall and long, saying "length" is going to magical turn a team into some powerhouse.

"They Came to Play" Seriously? I hope both teams showed up to play. Otherwise, why are we watching or playing the game?
 
CL82 said:
The one that always mildly annoys me is when someone is talking about as giving more than 100% effort. Often, this is 110% which makes zero sense. The interesting question is is someone who claims to put out 110% of effort putting out less effort than someone who claims to put out 120%? What about 200%, or even 2,000,000% effort?
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Anyone who puts out 110% in a game just means they normally put out 90% and call it 100% - its sort of like grade inflation.

AgStatesman said:
"Dribble Drive" is the definition of redundancy. You cannot drive in basketball without dribbling. That's called a travel. "She attacked the basket with the dribble drive." D'D'Oh? What other type of drive could she have attacked the basket with?
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While I dislike the term as well, it is making a distinction from a player driving to the basket without the ball and receiving the ball with two steps to go and no need to dribble.

And Hey now, I like cricket! And all the weird terms (silly point for example - anyone who places themselves 5 feet from the batter to field has to be a little silly - and they used to do it without a helmet!) So lay off it! :eek:
 
I find most of the things more amusing than annoying. I mean, what would we all do if no one provided opportunities for ridicule and feeling superior? :rolleyes: I remember my wife and I used to get a kick out of some guy ( I believe on ESPN) who would say “assisteses”! I suppose I’d have admit to some occasional annoyance but mostly, I get a kick out of the ridiculous things people say. (I’m sure I provide some of the same opportunities to others)
 
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EdSaid said:
"Rising" junior. Cut the crap, we're talking about athletic eligibility. The day after your sophomore spring semester ends, you are now a junior.
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That is a Junior whose level of play has risen and is catching the eyes of coaches, mainly for the first time. That is what I see it meaning. All Juniors don't fit that description.
 
In football, the defensive back knocks down a long pass "at the last second." Unless he had blocked the throw right out of the QB's hand, when else would he knock it down?

In golf, the player hits it close to the "hole location." How about simply close to the hole?
 
It's not just sports. Pompous jargon surrounds us. It's aim is to impress, not to communicate. Read the financial press, and don't be surprised if it feels like you are getting sucked down into buzzword quicksand. Of course many business types love sports terms, as they are about competing and striving and winning. Sports talking heads try to sound “professional” by repeating all the same cliches other sportscasters use. It's a never ending circle jerk. Why say homered or hit it out of the park when you can flash your in-crowd credentials by screeching goes yard!

Decades ago George Orwell warned us about dead metaphors, especially in public life. George Orwell: Politics and the English Language
Don't be put off by the title; the essay is not about politics. It is about lazy, sloppy, imprecise language, and people using words that don't mean what the writers and speakers think they mean.

Think of the last time you were told that the mother gave birth to a little baby boy. Glad to hear that it was a mother doing the birthing, and not a nephew. Do we need to say that the baby is little, to distinguish it from all the gargantuan newborns?

Keep dead and dying metaphors in mind the next time you are told that the pitcher challenged the batter. How's that for bush league language? :eek:
 
Sifaka said:
It's not just sports. Pompous jargon surrounds us. It's aim is to impress, not to communicate. Read the financial press, and don't be surprised if it feels like you are getting sucked down into buzzword quicksand. Of course many business types love sports terms, as they are about competing and striving and winning. Sports talking heads try to sound “professional” by repeating all the same cliches other sportscasters use. It's a never ending circle jerk. Why say homered or hit it out of the park when you can flash your in-crowd credentials by screeching goes yard!

Decades ago George Orwell warned us about dead metaphors, especially in public life. George Orwell: Politics and the English Language
Don't be put off by the title; the essay is not about politics. It is about lazy, sloppy, imprecise language, and people using words that don't mean what the writers and speakers think they mean.

Think of the last time you were told that the mother gave birth to a little baby boy. Glad to hear that it was a mother doing the birthing, and not a nephew. Do we need to say that the baby is little, to distinguish it from all the gargantuan newborns?

Keep dead and dying metaphors in mind the next time you are told that the pitcher challenged the batter. How's that for bush league language? :eek:
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Thanks for the link, I "favorited" it for future reading after a quick glance.

While signature lines - another form of jargon and referenced in this tread by the "Diaper Dandy" diss - probably fit the bill, I mind them a bit less if they are "clever" and you don't hear them every day. Kenny Mayne's "hit over some fencing set up in the outfield" is my favorite and the infamous "he could go all the way" of Chris Berman perhaps my least favorite.
 
donalddoowop said:
That is a Junior whose level of play has risen and is catching the eyes of coaches, mainly for the first time. That is what I see it meaning. All Juniors don't fit that description.
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A rising Junior is a sophomore after the class year ends. It isn't a sports term. During the summer before your Junior year, you are a rising Junior. A little formal, but anyone using it otherwise is creating a new meaning.
 
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Bald Huskie said:
This a little off the thread, but during the Regionals much was made by the media, and some team that hates us forever, about UConn having an unfair advantage by playing in Bridgeport. I get it, the country gets it, and the whole basketball world gets it. It was the luck of the draw. But when Ryan Rucco kept bring it up during the NCState game, it started to bother me. Not just that, but after rewatching the Indiana game, he harped up on it there also. I don't know if he hates UConn, or he is stupid, because if the main announcer is pushing this than it does not give service for what the team went through, and our two huge victories are iIlegitimized. Sorry, but watching and continually hearing that got my goat.
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That topic registered high on the public reaction scale. It was enjoyed by those who want UConn to lose, allowing them to be smug in the knowledge that UConn wins because they get all the breaks. And at the same time it ticked off UConn fans who pointed to about 30 instances in NCAA history when it happened without any comment from the media. ESPN is all about clicks and they don't care if the clickers are happy or ticked off.
It's why I stopped putting the audio on from the streams and synch up to the UConn radio feed.
 
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To me, Freshman sophomore, junior and senior are terms that describe academic progress and should have little to do with an athletes' years of eligibility. In college football and mens basketball there are a lot of 20+ year old "true freshmen" who spent a year or 2 in a prep school after high school. We find out after they have played 2 years of pro ball and we hear they are 28.
 
"A bright future" You hear that term often used with a freshman or a rookie, or a bad franchise like the Lions or Jets during the NFL draft.

"Successful surgery" gee I would hope the surgery was successful, your never gonna hear about an athlete having uncessful surgery.

Speaking of that
sports.yahoo.com

Tyrod Taylor suing Chargers doctor who accidentally punctured his lung before 2020 game

Taylor seeks $5 million from the doctor who effectively ended his season as the Chargers' starting quarterback.
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
 
EdSaid said:
"NCAA Champion Coach Carolyn Peck."

That's as bad as Andy Lander's jet black hair dye. Yes, she won an NCAA championship with Purdue, but she is in her mid 50's, if she was a good coach she would be coaching. Most of her time on the air, she is going against UConn.

Has anyone ever heard Geno introduced as 11 time champion coach????
Expand ...
Those that can, play.
Those that can't play, coach.
Those that can't coach. become analysts.
Those that can't play, coach or analyze become sideline reporters.
 
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